Fun reading...I hope!

Found a marvelous book at our local library, a New York Times collection of NYC stories from over the years. Just perusing it between the shelves it caught my interest quickly, particularly since it opened immediately to an article about the 1965 New York blackout. Said blackout, which was really a northeastern USA & southeastern Canada phenomenon, occurred when I was a toddler and still living in the city.

If there's one thing I've always enjoyed, it's reading articles about events I at least vaguely recall. History has always drawn my interest, but now that my childhood years are nigh on half a century ago, my own lifetime is rapidly becoming something of historical interest--as weird as THAT is to realize!

I'll have to let you know if the book's worth the read. I'm expecting as much, particularly since it's a "gray lady" tome!

Mother's Day

Hope my readership had a lovely day being spoiled by their children. ;) I had a pleasant day that began with breakfast in bed prepared & delivered upstairs by my youngest, but I ended up doing a bit more than I'd originally planned. It's OK--most of my "doing" involved primping my '04 Mustang GT convertible, which needed TLC in the form of vacuuming, washing, & a coat of Armor All on the interior. Tomorrow, as I'm' off for a state holiday, she'll get a coat of wax, Rain-X on her windshield, & a dose of Armor All on the roof. Just before dark, hubby rushed to replace the faulty EGR valve.

Today's homily dealt with Mother's Day from the viewpoint of a fervently praying woman named Monica, whose son was a bit undisciplined as a youth, including having a child out of wedlock with one of his many lovers before Monica's prayers were answered & he joined the church...in the fourth century. (This raucous individual is best known to history as St. Augustine of Hippo.) I'd first heard the story on a Mothering Sunday in England way back in March of (I think!) 1987. My teenaged daughter had never before heard it & was, I think, surprised to realize St. Augustine was as "imperfect" as so many other of the saints were while on earth.

Our high temperatures today dropped from 90+ to the mid-70s, much more pleasant & less humid to be about in the yard helping to haul shrubbery clippings from the yard to the trailer (before I attended to the car). That made for a fun afternoon spent with the eleven year old, who soaked ME more than she did the car while we were soaping & rinsing her! We pretty much had to wring out our shirts & shorts & leave our shoes on the porch to dry, but it was worth it to have a sparkling clean car again (not to mention a stress-free afternoon with my own offspring!).

Maternal pride

Yay for any accomplishment by any of my children. Today, however, found me attending an honors convocation for the PE department from which my younger son will earn his BSci in Physical Education next year at this time. He had been selected as one of only two junior students in the department to receive awards for professional development, etc. The other awards were primarily snapped up by the seniors who will graduate tomorrow, though a few went to MS level graduates.

So for the second time in several years, one of my offspring is honored on a plaque at an educational institution. I'm probably beaming enough to illuminate a dark room. ;)

Manners Apply in Cyberspace Too

I read a column written by a New York journalist which vented about the crassness & cowardice of rude individuals who post inappropriate comments to articles on line, "hiding behind their user IDs."

It assuredly applies worldwide; I see it almost constantly on the webpage of our local CBS affiliate. "Holier than thou" types make rude comments about the misdeeds, accidents, foibles, & pratfalls of others which happen to make the news, often leading to threads that end up discussing anything BUT the news piece about which the original comments were made & going on a bit (as they say in England) before culminating in somebody's comments being deleted for "violating the terms of use."

My grandmother's advice remains true today: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything," but substitute "post" for "say" for Internet applications.